UN warns of crucial days ahead

By Cindy Gruwell on December 30, 2004 8:57 AM

Thursday December 30, 2004

As aid agencies struggled to cope with the scale of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, the UN today warned that the next few days would be critical in the fight to control potential outbreaks of disease.

The incidence of diarrhoea is increasing, but is no greater than would be expected at this stage of a natural disaster, David Nabarro, the head of crisis operations for the World Health Organisation, said.

"We remain really concerned about the situation," he said, adding that it was becoming clearer whether or not medical supplies were matching the needs of the areas affected by the disaster. "It's a normal anxiety that we have at this time, that we've got a clearer understanding of the needs but we've also got a clearer concern about the supplies," Mr Nabarro said.